London Metropolitan Archives

London Metropolitan Archives specialises in the history of London. We care for and provide access to the historical archives of businesses, schools, hospitals, charities and all manner of other organisations from the London area. With 100 km of books, maps, photographs, films and documents dating back to 1067 in our strong rooms, we’re proud to provide access to one of the finest city archives in the world – you could call it the memory of London.

Our collections

A number of collections which include sporting activity are listed below. This is very much a taste of what the collections offer. The best way to get started is to search our online catalogue. Searches using terms like ‘football’, ‘tennis’ or ‘rugby’ will return hundreds of results. In general, our collections are stronger in schools and amateur sport. If you have a specific area of interest, please contact us. For more information and to search our collections, please visit our webpages.

Clubs and Organisations

Crystal Palace (CPT)
London County Council Sports Club (ACC/2598)
London Schools Football Association (LMA/4045)
Mayfield Athletic Club, Edmonton (ACC/1384)
Olympic Ephemera (London 2012) (LMA/4648)
Wembley Stadium PLC (LMA/4225)

Sports Clubs within Businesses, Local Authorities, Hospitals etc.

City of London, Guildhall Clubs and Societies (CLA/074)
Cowley Recreational Institution (LMA/4275)
Hanwell Asylum (H11/HLL)
John Roan School (LMA/4442)
London Federation Of Boys’ Clubs (LMA/4283)
Maccabi Union Great Britain (LMA/4286)
Metropolitan Railway Athletic Association (ACC/1297)
Royal Dental Hospital Athletic Club (H42/RD)
St Lawrence’s Hospital Athletic Club (H23/SL)
Saint Michaels Athletic Association (DRO/069)

Related Material in Other Collections

London County Council, 1889 to 1965 (LCC) – Sport in schools is well covered within the LCC records, along with typical local authority records relating to buildings and parks.
Middlesex County Council, 1889 to 1965 (MCC) – A similar collection to the LCC above.
Greater London Council, 1965 to 1988 (GLC) – A large number of files relating to buildings (including professional football stadia), sports clubs in London, athletic tracks
Olympic Games – Please see our listings for 1908, 1948 and 2012 on the Sporting Cities website www.sportingcities.org
Image Collections – A large number of photographs, posters and prints which relate to sporting activities and venues. Amateur sports and stadia owned by local authorities have greater coverage. Sport in schools is an area of particular strength.
Film and Video Collections – A number of titles show sporting activity, including the excellent amateur film ‘London’s Green Heritage’, which covers sport in London’s parks in 1947 (including a ski jump erected on Hampstead Heath).